South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will be donning thermal underwear over the winter period, in an attempt to persuade his citizens to make some sacrifices in order to conserve electricity amid surging power demands in the country.

Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, signed a $3 billion deal with Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) to finance projects and organise debt issuance for the Kazakh state railway firm, the companies said on Wednesday.

Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund is preparing to inject more capital into BTA as part of a business plan that could involve the country's third-largest lender buying back its bonds next year, sources close to the matter said.

China's central bank cut reserve requirements for commercial lenders on Wednesday for the first time in three years, a policy shift to ease credit strains and shore up an economy running at its weakest pace since 2009.